Thunder outlast the Grizzlies in triple OT, 133-123

The Thunder beat the Grizzlies 133-123 in triple-overtime to even the series 2-2. Russell Westbrook scored 40. Kevin Durant had 35. It was a very good game.

That’s it. That’s all I got. After that four-hour marathon, prize fight or whatever cliche you want to plug in, I feel like I just went through about 250 stages of emotions.

I thought the game was over about 40 different times. Once as early as about four minutes in. The Grizzlies started the game 8-0 and pushed out to an 18-point first half lead. That seems so, so long ago. But for the first quarter or so, the Thunder just didn’t look ready. The Grizzlies came out swinging and Oklahoma City wasn’t ready to respond.

Funny to think about all that happened later on. I mean seriously, how does one go about accurately describing this game? The Thunder made a great push to get within four going to halftime, played a terrific second half and held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. They failed to close out the final four minutes and after Kendrick Perkins missed two crucial free throws, Mike Conley dropped an impossible 3. Russell Westbrook had a decent look with 3.5 seconds left to send the game to overtime but came up short.

And that’s when things started to get crazy.

The Thunder took control of the first extra frame but Memphis got another five minutes on the wing and prayer from Greivis Vazquez. At that point, it just felt like it wasn’t meant to be. I mean, how do you come back from that? The Thunder actually trailed for most of the second overtime, but a big step-back Russell Westbrook jumper and a wild scramble under the basket after Zach Randolph missed an easy one led to the Thunder having a shot to win again. Westbrook came up short after having to go full court.

Third overtime. Here’s where the Thunder finally was able to finish the ridiculously persistent Grizzlies. Memphis was playing the third overtime without Conley and O.J. Mayo who had fouled out, which meant Vazquez keyed the offense, which meant the Grizzlies were in trouble. The Thunder won the final frame 14-4 with KD scoring six huge points to close it out.

That’s the gist of the game. But my goodness, there’s so much more.

Back to that start. The Thunder just looked awful the first 16 minutes. It was like the last 20 minutes of Game 3 somehow were transplanted into Game 4. The offense was pathetic, the defense was meh and the team just wasn’t doing anything right. The Thunder turned it over seven times in the first quarter, shot 6-16 and then started the second quarter 0-7. It was looking like a disaster was brewing for the Thunder and that this series was inching closer to a conclusion.

As I watched it, I could only think one thing: OKC needs Russell Westbrook to go hero here. For all the criticism he’s endured, for all the discussion he’s generated and for all the negative stuff that’s been said about him, the Thunder desperately needed Westbrook to bail them out. It started when Daequan Cook hit two big 3s — which seem meaningless now, but at the time were HUGE — and then Westbrook started attacking. And attacking. And attacking. He scored nine points the last five minutes of the second and the Thunder got the message. They fell in step behind Russ and finally woke up.

That’s the thing: The Thunder has to have that Westbrook. He’s crucial. The challenge for him is realizing when and where to turn it on and off. Tonight, he turned it on just in time. Without that second quarter spark, we’re not all staying up until 1 a.m. yelling at our TVs.

Now some of it all started creeping back in late in the fourth when Westbrook took a questionable long jumper, turned it over and then was blocked by Marc Gasol. KD took only one shot the entire fourth, but it seemed excusable to a degree because Westbrook was coming up huge. Like I said though, finding that “off” switch was tough for him because he had carried the Thunder to that point and to hand it off was difficult.

Same story in the overtimes. Westbrook was the offensive focus for the Thunder and Durant played second banana. I’d have to re-watch but on first look, it just seemed like the Grizzlies intended to take away Durant and force Westbrook’s hand. If Westbrook wasn’t up to the challenge, OKC loses this game in the first OT. But he stepped up and didn’t settle for bad shots. He attacked and in some cases, created. (Like how about that kickout to James Harden for 3 that tied the game at 117-117? Big, big play and a big, big shot.)

It’s all almost a blur in my head right now, but the way the Thunder competed and never, ever backed down was downright inspiring. These guys knew this Game 4 meant everything. They were devastated after Game 3 and with the way this one started, they could’ve laid down and just hoped for a better Game 5. But they clawed down to the final buzzer and somehow, someway, found a way to win. They could’ve won at about eight other times, but they basically just outlasted the Grizzlies. Memphis didn’t have enough gas or horses to finish, but with Westbrook and Durant on the floor still ticking, OKC did.

NOTES:

The Thunder won this game at the free throw line. The offense only really got going for a few minutes at a time, but KD was 16-18 from the line and Westbrook 10-11. As a team, OKC was 42-50.

I find it mildly unbelievable that OKC played three overtimes and finished with only 16 total assists. Somebody at Elias get on that right now.

Yes, Westbrook was 15-33 from the floor and KD took just 20 shots. But that number is really deceiving. And necessary. KD took a ton of free throws and OKC had to have Westbrook scoring in this game. He may not have pleased you point guard purists, but Westbrook wasn’t a point guard in this game. He was a scorer.

What’s crazy is that Serge Ibaka only played 16 minutes. Foul trouble limited him and he wasn’t much of a factor. And Nick Collison was downright fantastic on Randolph again. But Ibaka came in during the third overtime when Perk fouled out and did a great job on the glass and hit a big shot.

Collison did shock us all losing his cool in the second OT though. He picked up a technical slapping the ball out of Randolph’s hands after he was hit in the face. Uncharicterstic of Nick, but he was certainly tired of Randolph doing it the whole game.

The Thunder survived, otherwise I probably wouldn’t shut up about the horrible mistake by the officials in the first overtime. Mayo threw the ball off of Harden on the sideline, but his foot was out of bounds when he jumped for the ball. A player that’s out can’t touch it without first re-establishing himself on the court. The refs reviewed it and still messed it up. The Grizzlies got possession and nailed a 3.

Westbrook and Durant scored 22 of the Thunder’s 37 overtime points. James Harden had eight, Perk two, Ibaka two and Cook two.

I don’t know if the Thunder inbounded to Westbrook at the end of the first OT to foul out Mayo, but it was very smart. Lionel Hollins stupidly had Mayo in the game and OKC gave it to Westbrook who was fouled by Mayo. Big moment because Mayo certainly would’ve made a difference.

For once, the Thunder’s small ball lineup worked really well. At one point, OKC was a +17 with Durant at the 4.

Excellent point from Joe Trautlien at HoopData: “Russ being put in bad situations is equally a problem compared to his own bad decisions.”

Both Perk and Westbrook were hit with pretty weak technicals in the second quarter. Westbrook was called for just yelling, “That’s a foul!”

Westbrook’s body language to start the second half was really poor after he missed an easy layup on the first possession. He was clearly moping. Two or three teammates talked to him and lifted him up. Obviously, it worked.

On the final play of regulation, the play was designed for Durant but Thabo was forced to give it to Westbrook. Durant was caught by the TV cameras saying to Mo Cheeks, “Why didn’t he give me the f—– ball?” The reason was two-fold: He was about to hit a five-second count and two, because you were standing almost at halfcourt, covered.

I can’t believe it took me this long, but how good was Harden in that fourth quarter? It almost made me sick to watch him set up teammates and orchestrate the offense. What could’ve been in Game 3, what could’ve been.

I thought Scott Brooks coaches a terrible first half, but a splendid second half and overtimes. You can say what you want about the Thunder not closing, but it took two miracle 3s by the Grizzlies to extend this game. The Thunder did well. The execution wasn’t good to finish regulation, but the Grizzlies want to win too. They weren’t just going to quit because they were down 10.

Memphis nearly won this game on the offensive glass. They finished with 24 offensive rebounds and in the overtimes, scored almost entirely off of second chances. Gasol had 21 boards and 10 offensive. Randolph had eight offensive.

Westbrook quietly played a terrific defensive game on Mike Conley who was just 2-12 from the floor with only five assists.

Is this a shift in momentum? I’m not totally sure. It has to be almost as equally devastating for the Grizzlies as Game 3 was for the Thunder. Memphis had a big lead and blew it. Then they were poised to steal one off of a couple miracle shots. But OKC finished it off.

And the Thunder had to. They had to win once in Memphis and if it didn’t happen tonight, this series would be all but over. Now the Thunder has the upper-hand needing to win two of three with homecourt advantage again. About 500 things happened those 63 minutes, but the end result means the Thunder got the job done. The trip to Memphis is a success. It’s a bit bittersweet because it seems like two wins should’ve happened, but the Grizzlies feel the same way. Point is, it’s a series again and Game 5 is just as big as the rest of them. Probably bigger actually. Prepare for six overtimes.

Man, that's one heck of a great game... I was like a zombie the whole day at work, actually I think I am like that all the time... But, definately it was worth it... :)RW and KD played great, Ibaka showed up late but still helped at the end, Harden and Cook (I actually think Cook was the game changer last night with his back to back 3 pointers) chipped in, Collison played the way he knows how to play (helping out big in all the unoticed ways) and even Mohammed played great offensively too (not sure if he ate different pre-game meal or something...) KD was also playing very good too, but I think he was really winded late in the game... Almost 57 mins...For some reason it just seems to me that everyone is actually picking on KD now after RW was being blashed by the media. As much as I like RW (I do have problem with his game sometime and I am not gonna lied, just like I had problem with KD's earlier days in the NBA)... It's almost like some of you are trying to find someone else to shift the blames so RW doesn't look bad... Actually I don't think you can point any finger at RW at all last night neither(yes, he was sloppy for a short periof of time but there would be no game if it wasn't him).He was actually shooting 45%, had 35 points with 20 shots and he was the one that really jumped in there to grab the rebounds when the Thunder's bigs not able to control the board most of the night... Seriously... If it wasn't him there would also be no game neither. And he was playing almost 57 mins which quite a few of them was guarding either M Gasol or Randolph, easily each of them have 30 some pounds more than KD... And people is calling him lazy? Interesting... Because I don't think any Thunder players was lazy last night because even the ones that were not dress to play also giving their teammates support...What a game... Now, I have to find a copy online since it was too long and my PVR wasn't able to keep it since I still want to keep a few other games from this season too... :(

clarkem :The only problem I had was them calling KD for a push in the back on a fast break, when every replay clearly, obviously, blatantly shows Randolph doing that. The difference is our guys can’t flop because they know they won’t get the call.

Haha. Did you really just say that your guys don't flop? Westbrook flailed his arms knowing contact was coming several times last night. And about the "won't get the call" thing: three words..."Durant rip move." That is every bit as much of a flop as taking a flying leap backwards on a charge. Regarding the fast break, you cannot barrel into someone's back who is in position to get a rebound, and push them down so you can get the rebound. Hence, why it was accurately called a foul. If they were calling every positioning foul that occurred last night, Perkins and Randolph would have both fouled out in the 1st half. The refs clearly came into that game whistle happy, but to say it was unfair towards one team or another is insane. That was probably the most unbiased officiating in this series so far.

@DavyTheWiseI think Mark is or will be soon better than his brother. I bet LA will be kicking themselfs for trading Mark for his Pau in the near future even though it looks to have paid off in the short run.

@tomkar98I said practically the same thing last night in the same place you did. Standing in the local bar, mouth on the floor and emotionally exhausted. This is yet another classic game in this years post season for the Thunder.

Skeletor :Dear Skip Bayless and 1 and 10,We won this game because of Russell Westbrook. Yes, he only got 5 assists. Yes, it is unconventional, but seriously! All you do the whole time is complain about Russ still after we WON! All they said is, “Russ is not a PG. OKC has a problem. They are a sloppy, undisciplined team.” Come on Skip and Chris. Give us some props!

I'm with you. My favorite was his hustle play late--I can't remember when--where he made a fantastic save under the Grizz basket. Whew! He played tremendous ball last night. I think he should probably get the bulk of the minutes every game over Thabo, even if he doesn't start. If Brooks lets Harden play through some bad stretches, and he doesn't always, the potential upside to Harden picking it up is greater than any upside Thabo has, IMO. But really a fantastic effort all around, and I loved seeing Nick pick up the T! I think Randolph NEVER shuts up down there in the post, and that probably just pushed Nick over the edge (along with getting hit in the face).

I'm not trying to say we should blame the refs for anything. I just think the Grizzlies go out of their way to create fouls where none exist (like when Gasol pushed Russ into Vasquez) and get away with cheap holding fouls that mostly just annoy our guys. They did the same thing to San Antonio.

I think they're dirty and I hope they get blown out of the building Wednesday!

One thing I want to point out also, although Russ had an INCREDIBLE game, Harden just felt like the MVP all game long. Every time we were losing our composure, he'd do something big. Timely shots, steals, running down rebounds, blocking OJ Mayo's three in the corner. Every time we needed something, he was the guy. No discredit to Russ at all cuz he played the exact game we needed him to play and was golden, but no Harden also = no chance to win in this one.

No kidding. We can't even get a story on the Daily Dime. We were front-page material this morning on ESPN.com though. That's a first.

The Boston/Miami series is massively uninteresting. Boston lost its identity and edge when they made the Perk trade. There was no way they were winning this series, and yet the talk about it is still incessant. Oh well.

Just want to comment on a few things. I'm a little long-winded, so the summary is: great game all around, Game 5 will be tough, Berry Trammel is dumb.

First, I seriously underestimated the Thunder's ability to adjust to Randolph/Gasol after Game 1. The coaching staff and players have done a tremendous job since then. Unfortunately for us, the Grizz back court has really stepped it up, especially OJ Mayo and Mike Conley. Conley and Vazquez had no business hitting those three pointers, but sometimes prayers are answered. Despite Conley's improved play this postseason, throughout Games 3 and 4, Westbrook has done a tremendous job guarding him. Especially late in Game 3, Westbrook busted his hump to fight through screen after screen and really hounded him. Ultimately we lost that game, but I really liked what I saw from him defensively there. So I tip my hat to a hard-fought win.

Second, a key to last night's win was Battier and Tony Allen's foul trouble. I hope we really force the issue against them in Game 5, and get them to foul early and often. If we can make them play a little more softly, it will really help KD.

And speaking of KD, surely he is going to get going soon. He has really not been playing very well, and he needs to pick it up. He definitely hit some big shots last night, but really, he needs to work harder against Battier and Allen. They aren't going to give it up easy.

On Westbrook--what a performance. He played spectacularly. He controlled his turnovers, hit shots when we needed them, and made a key assist. (And I've read some people wondering about a rift between KD and Russ--I don't know any details, so I won't speculate. But I will say that, if their relationship is deteriorating, it may not matter that much. LeBron was just best of friends with his Cleveland teammates, but in the end it didn't matter. I don't think Westbrook decides not to pass to KD out of some feud, but because KD seriously can't get open. So I would take any such discussion with a grain of salt.)

Finally, Scott Brooks did a tremendous job coaching. Berry Trammel, in his all-knowing wisdom, gave Brooks' coaching effort a 'D.' Trammel will stubbornly stick with this ridiculous assessment on the Sports Animal this afternoon. Well, Trammel is flat-out wrong. I'll be the first to admit that a team can sometimes win despite a coach's shortcomings. But last night Brooks did almost everything right.

I believe that Ibaka started in the third quarter and immediately picked up a foul. Brooks could sense that he just wasn't right for some reason, so he didn't play him until very late. And guess what--that turned out to be the right decision. Ibaka may have easily fouled out if he played before that third OT. But as it was, he didn't, and made some huge plays. I hope Ibaka isn't really hurting, but I'm afraid he may be.

Ultimately the lineup is not what caused us to lose the lead late in the fourth. It was Perk missing two key foul shots, and Mike Conley hitting a shot he shouldn't have made. We played good defense on the shot, and he made it. No lineup would have changed that. The fact is Memphis doesn't go away, and they fought, and would have fought hard against any lineup. They are a very talented NBA team, and there's no magic lineup that can change that. We were fortunate to be up by as many as we were at any point in the game after our horrendous start.

So, with all that said...Memphis will most likely be ready to play in Game 5. I know the Thunder will be too. Hopefully they hit some shots early and take off. Thunder Up!

Ibaka was getting burned, and fouling every possession. Perk played solid D. Those guys are going to score on everyone. If he can foce a tough shot without fouling he did hsi job perfectly.

Also, I came away from this game knowing we took the absolute best their team had to offer and the absolute best their crowd (PA announcer) had to offer and we won. The played 16 absolutely absurd minutes (30 going back to last game) got down almost 20 and everyone thought the game was over. If we start this game half way decent we win by 10 in regulation. I don't expect Memphis to be able to handle us at all when we play decent to start. I'm calling a win in the next game.

@Daniel PlainviewYes worse than Perk. He wasn't blocking out, he wasn't rebounding, he wasn't playing defense, he had 5 fouls in like 12 minutes until he came in during the 3rd OT. Perk played a lot longer with 5 fouls than I think Ibaka would have.

The only problem I had was them calling KD for a push in the back on a fast break, when every replay clearly, obviously, blatantly shows Randolph doing that. The difference is our guys can't flop because they know they won't get the call.

Mike and Mike was so disappointing. They spent pretty much the entire morning talking about Heat/Celtics and spent maybe 2 minutes on the triple overtime thriller that was OKC/Memphis. I understand the big market teams taking precedence on a national sports radio show, but come on, it was a 3OT game for crying out loud. Very disappointed.

Bryan :I used to kind of like Memphis, but Battier has tought them how to win dirty. And I don’t like it.

Cant hate Dirt, we got Perk. I wish he would calm down. I think it is really is as easy as it seems.

I didnt seem like Perk was setting solid screens late. Did I miss something?

Again, why did Ibaka not play from like the third quarter until 3rd OT? Perk had 5 fouls too and played in teh 4th and all the OTs I believe. Can not underplay how great collison was last night. Not only was he amazing on Randolph, he was the one that finally put an end to all that hot potato madness

- As much as people like to complain about Scott Brooks coaching, Hollins having Mayo in when they have to foul was absurd.- On the play ball-to-the head play with Harden, anyone notice Randolph bulldozing Collison under the basket like a linebacker????- Collison's D on Randolph in the OTs was just...awesome.

I can't believe that Russ is still getting flack. If Rose played the same game, they'd be talking about it being an MVP performance. Like others have said, OKC needed that kind of performance out of Russ last night. KD had a great 3OT, but he didn't play particularly well the rest of the game (probably because Memphis had him double covered).

I just want to say that the Grizzlies are some cheap, acting bastards.

They play some good quality basketball. But, they also make some cheap plays and get away with a lot of slick BS.

Battier is probably the worst offender, but the play that really pissed me off was the one where Russ got called for the foul on Vasquez in the lane on a late and verry important possesion. It would have been hard for the refs to see, but Gasol shoved Russ into Vasquez with two hands.

Perkins tried to point it out, but it's kind of "boy who cried wolf" with him.

I don't think I'll be pulling for any team out of the West if the Thunder don't make it.

Bucher had a pretty good take on the Westbrook criticism on sportscenter. Basically he said you can't blame RW for taking it himself when it takes Durant the entire shot clock to get open 3 feet behind the 3 point line.

We won this game because of Russell Westbrook. Yes, he only got 5 assists. Yes, it is unconventional, but seriously! All you do the whole time is complain about Russ still after we WON! All they said is, "Russ is not a PG. OKC has a problem. They are a sloppy, undisciplined team." Come on Skip and Chris. Give us some props!

My girlfriend lives in Tulsa and I was there over the weekend and we passed by a bar that I thought was the one you said you owned. I said to my girlfriend "Hey I think that's the bar that the guy from the Daily Thunder forums owns."

"Royce mentions the O.J. Mayo out of bounds play. But I think it was the inbounds play after the ball was awarded to the Grizz–did anyone notice that the Grizz took well over 5 seconds to get the ball in? (I know this because I’m a nerd and I timed it… 5.8 seconds give or take)."

Great game. I woke up the kids screaming at the TV lol.Interesting thing I noticed, when RW drove to the rim and slammed hard into the backstop and got pissed because a foul did not get called and he started to get pouty, they let Harden run the offense for the next 2 possessions. I really liked this change to give RW a chance to cool off, good coaching. Not that I think that this should be a permanent change, RW is the man, but a nice change up and a chance to get RW head back in the game.

@propsThe craziest thing about RW's T was that he got called for it a good 15 seconds after he had quit complaining. But to be fair to the Refs, they let RW get away with a little bit more after that. He probably should've been T'd up on that play where he missed the lay up and then grabbed the goal post in disbelief.

I turned the game off when the Thunder will getting owned in the first half and turned it back it one when they trailed 57-61. Before I turned it back to the game, I thought to myself "how many points are they down now? 10? 20? THIRTY?" but lo and behold they were within 4 and ended up taking the lead later on in that stretch. I was sitting there like "hmmph, well this won't last but I'm amazed they came all the way back and aren't getting blown out, especially the way they started the game and Memphis looking untouchable". Obviously, I was hooked on the game at that point and rode the roller coaster all the way through. You can't make up/write/dream games like this. You're pretty much at a loss for words and the loser of this game is devastated. The Grizz had the upper hand after the pulled the rug on us in Game 3, but now they know how we feel after they lost this game so we're even. Game 5 will be war.

Royce mentions the O.J. Mayo out of bounds play. But I think it was the inbounds play after the ball was awarded to the Grizz--did anyone notice that the Grizz took well over 5 seconds to get the ball in? (I know this because I'm a nerd and I timed it... 5.8 seconds give or take).

I'm not going to call conspiracy, but two plays in a row the refs bailed out the Grizz. Not to mention the short lease the entire Thunder team was given--3 techs on OKC but none on Memphis? RW getting a tech for telling the ref he was fouled? Even on Collison's tech Fratello was saying the refs should just call delay of game and let them play because every point was so critical.

Trackbacks

[…] DAILY THUNDER: Same story in the overtimes. Westbrook was the offensive focus for the Thunder and Durant played second banana. I’d have to re-watch but on first look, it just seemed like the Grizzlies intended to take away Durant and force Westbrook’s hand. If Westbrook wasn’t up to the challenge, OKC loses this game in the first OT. But he stepped up and didn’t settle for bad shots. He attacked and in some cases, created. (Like how about that kickout to James Harden for 3 that tied the game at 117-117? Big, big play and a big, big shot.) […]